“Save The Last Dance” is turning 20!
To celebrate the iconic dance flick, Kerry Washington, who starred as Chenille, shared an epic throwback shot with her cast mates and reflected on what an iconic and important role it was for her.
“OH EM GEE!!!! Save the Last Dance turns 20 years old today!” Kerry wrote alongside a snap of herself with Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Garland Whitt and Vince Green.
“Playing Chenille changed my life,” Kerry continued, reflecting on what the role meant to her. “I read that script and I felt like I KNEW her. At the time, I also knew the narrative that was being served in culture about who Black teen moms are. And I knew that if done right, this was an opportunity to transform some stereotyped thinking and make this young woman REAL. And human. And deserving of love and attention.
“I loooooved being a part of this film. This cast. This crew,” she concluded. “So many ‘slammin’ memories!”
Sean Patrick Thomas, who played Derek, also took to Instagram to commemorate the big milestone, captioning a series of black-and-white photos, “‘Save The Last Dance’ premiered 20 years ago and we shocked the world, including myself. Never imagined the film would be as beloved as it is.”
He went on to shout out all the people that made the experience so special, adding, “Thank you @missjuliastiles for being an incredible partner…to @fatima_noir & @rtbrothas & @punchcity1 for pushing me..to my castmates @kerrywashington, @fredro_starr, #VinceGreen, what fun…my man #JeffRoda✊🏿 Very proud today. We did good.”